Of gods and emperors
by Birdboy
Summary: It is a common fact of history that, when a trainer became so strong humans no longer offered any competition at all, they would seek for themselves a legendary pokemon - a pokemon god.


Some say it began at the dawn of time, when Dialga and Palkia were birthed by Arceus and heaven's clock began to tick upon the pokemon world. Others claim it started at the advent of man – when a hairless creature related to Mankey and Aipom developed tools such as the pokeball and began its reign over the other creatures of the land and sea. Still more trace it only to more recent times, with the dawn of civilization – first in Johto, than later to the isle of Hoenn, the Kanto plain, and now even the frozen north of Sinnoh – first as scattered city-states, now united as one.

It is the same, as Palkia knows well, in every universe. On every planet. Whether their deities were benevolent or tyrannical, whether they were few or many, the story of humankind could be fairly described as a chronicle of efforts to overthrow the gods.

(This was, in some ways, to be expected: gods themselves often tried to overthrow the gods. Archie and Maxie, after all, were cleverly manipulated by the sleeping Kyogre and Groudon with the aim of replacing Arceus at the head of the Pokemon pantheon – an attempt which failed miserably, sabotaged both by their own bitter rivalry and Rayquaza's loyal intervention.)

Most of these efforts were symbolic: Giovanni's cloning of Mew, for instance, or the scientific advances towards space flight made in the Pewter museum. But some, from the perspectives of the pokemon of legend, were literal – far too literal for their liking.

It is a common fact of history that, when a trainer became so strong humans no longer offered any competition at all, they would seek for themselves a legendary pokemon - a pokemon god. The deepest cave of Seafoam is filled with what appear at first to be the sculptures of many great of trainers, a sort of hall of fame for humans. In truth, the "sculptures" are their dead bodies frozen in Articuno ice, their remains as preserved as they were at the moment of death.

Other legends were less lucky. Arcanine, once considered the fourth of the legendary dogs, was not only captured, but bred in captivity to create the race of Growlithe; its old mystique only survives in the pokedex. The blind priest who built snowpoint temple did so after catching all three of the so-called lesser kings or regis, then fought Regigigas to a standstill. The three were freed upon his death, their locations sealed away in Hoenn with instructions hidden in Braille, and their presence so poorly recorded that in time, they again became pokemon thought to belong not to science, but to legend.

To those who truly know pokemon, there is little contradiction between the two.

But throughout all of history, there was only one man so brave, so powerful, as to challenge Arceus itself. It is in this context that I relate his tale.

* * *

Pokemon Trainer Leon, regnal name White II, could fairly be described as a Great Man – not a man of exceptional goodness, but the kind who changes the course of history. From humble roots as a minor noble in Viridian City, he had built a mighty empire through skilled politicking and shrewd warfare. He had deposed the powerless king in Saffron and uniting the region's warlords under his hegemony, which he carried forth in wars of conquest against Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. Through these conquests, White II had gained the appellation of "steel master", despite lacking a single steel-type on his team: his Venusaur led an oft-changing team for which Tauros and Electivire were the only other real constants. The term, however, referred not to his usage of pokemon, but his usage of weaponry: jets and tanks made up far more of his army than Blissey and Dugtrio, and some saw in his astonishing conquests a final triumph of technology over pokemon. (This distinction was far from clear-cut: a vast horde of water-types accompanied his mechanized army for type coverage, while Umbreon and Espeon saw a great deal of usage in support roles – and his foes, for their part, used carefully programmed Porygon-Z alongside wild pokemon captured in the newest pokeball variants out of Silph corporation.)

He had made many enemies in the process – a few deposed nobles, the Johto priesthood and the old, largely nominal emperor of the pokemon world (and with him Lugia, from who he traced the source of his line) and some small, obscure towns still held out against his rule: the two-year siege of the forest city had brought truth to the phrase "you can't spell Fortree without fort", but Sootopolis held out even longer, mining the undersea route to defend its sovereignty against all comers. (His opponents claimed this was because he feared Kyogre above all other pokemon and was loathe to challenge it, but the evidence simply does not bear this out.)

That said, White II had far greater concerns than a few villages – if a bunch of peasants wanted to go about their own ways and maintain a minor military force to render tax collection more trouble than it was worth, he didn't really care. Far more worrisome were the Seafoam and Whirl islands, the abandoned power plant and the deep caves of Victory Road – all homes of legends, all no-man's land for his forces. Some of the legends could not resist the onslaught: Ho-oh was defeated easily at Ecruteak – too easily, perhaps, and it soon became his right-hand pokemon – while Cresselia, Rayquaza, Dialga and Palkia were conquered, albeit after heroic battles which drained the treasury and provoked great loss of life.

Over the past two years, the unification of the kingdom had shown itself little more than a means to an end. Forgetting the world of the mortals, White II embarked on a vast, nationwide search for the legendary Azure Flute, sparing none of his empire's expense. That he had incurred the people's anger meant little to him, that he had foiled an attempted coup only by Ho-oh's grace did cause him concern, but he was unshaken in his quest - unshaken even when it reached the point where all technology failed and he found himself paying magicians and sages (most of them conmen) in a futile attempt to gain information.

It would be worth it. For immortality. For power – ultimate power. Or perhaps simply to test himself, to push his limits, to always get that one more bit of strength – to take on legends with a pokeball in hand, prove his greatness through their capture, and make them his own.

Even Arceus fits in a pokeball.

Not that he'd be using pokeballs. True, it would give him even greater bragging rights, but the odds were so far against its success that's he'd be bringing ultra balls and quick balls, dusk balls and timer balls. And cannons to shoot them with, because he couldn't afford the risks of throwing them by hand.

It was with these thoughts in mind that White II, the full might of his pokemon and the mechs they piloted (humans were left behind, as they could carry pokeballs, jump in and steal his moment of triumph; humanshape pokemon were used instead) bursted into the hall of origin to set eyes upon Arceus – an Arceus whose spokes were not yellow, but the gold of a Zap Plate. No pokemon stood beside the deity: many legends had sworn support, but he had waived them all off, citing concern for their safety.

"Electric-type? That's im--" White began, clearly startled.

"Is it? Have your scriptures taught you nothing of MY power?" A voice boomed from Arceus' location, shaking the ground beneath like a full-force earth power attack, annihilating the many pokemon-piloted tanks and mobile suits which comprised the bulk of his army. "Did you honestly think that I wouldn't come prepared?"

"Does Latias hold the Soul Dew while she races across Hoenn?"

"Do you mistake me for one as weak as Latias?" The equine god boomed again. "Latias might as well be Rattata!"

"Every god has a god complex." The emperor scoffed. "You can create, but can you also destroy? Let's begin this fight - Quick ball, go!" He yelled, lifting his cannon and firing a gold and blue ball in the direction of the white beast.

"Are you toying with ME? Even children know to weaken Pidgey in battle first - did you think a tactic which fails against Pidgey could work on the CREATOR of all things?" Arceus boomed, his voice like thunder – White wondered what his voice would sound like with different plates attached.

"Yes. Yes, I was." He muttered sheepishly – the strategy was bold, but the element of surprise could only do so much. "Everyone, attack!" A massive horde charged, led by Ho-oh and Venusaur, shooting out a great barrage of attacks which contained every element, albeit with a disproportionate amount of water.

"Judgement!" Prismatic lights circled Arceus, then rained down from the cave's ceiling, killing White II and his entire army in a single blow.

* * *

Upon the emperor's death, the pokemon world reverted not to its old, peaceful if divided world order, but to a time of endless strife – the anarchy of power struggles, the second warring states' era. To the people caught in the middle of this deadly time, it seemed an act of divine punishment for man's hubris.

But in time, the era of war would end. Freed from the duties of the battlefield and with no one left to conquer, the greatest of men would again come to challenge the gods. Such is the way of the pokemon world.


End file.
